Following the deadly earthquake in Japan earlier this year, Peter Wagner argued that the disaster was punishment from God because Japan “invited national demonization” and the pagan Sun Goddess had “sexual intercourse with the Emperor” of Japan. He similarly blamed Japan’s economic problems on the Emperor’s supernatural sex life: “Since the night that the present emperor slept with the sun Goddess, the stock market in Japan has gone down – never come up since.”

In his book, Hard-Core Idolatry-Facing the Facts, Wagner praised the burning of Roman Catholic, Mormon, Native American, and other non-Protestant religious objects: “The leaders explained how important it would be to do spiritual housecleaning in their homes before they came to the meeting. They began mentioning the kinds of material things that might be bringing honor to the spirits of darkness; pictures, statues, Catholic saints, Books of Mormon, pictures of former lovers, pornographic material, fetishes, drugs, Ouija boards, zodiac charms, good luck symbols, crystals for healing, amulets, talismans, tarot cards, witch dolls, voodoo items, love potions, books of magic, totem poles, certain pieces of jewelry, objects of Freemasonry, horoscopes gargoyles, native art, foreign souvenirs, and what have you.”

But in Rick Perry’s Christians-only, proselytizing prayer rally, endorsements from extremists like Wagner should come as no surprise as the Religious Right continue their embrace of Dominionism and the New Apostolic Reformation.